Divided They Fall
by sapphire.daydreams
Summary: ThunderClan's peaceful existence under Swiftstar comes to a screeching halt when the old leader is murdered. Accusations of stolen prey begin to fly back and forth between WindClan and ThunderClan, claims that could start a war. And when a strange cat shows up and requests to join ThunderClan, they realize there's someone trying to rip the Clans apart, and that they might succeed..


"Poppyfur!"

"Ngh?" The tortoiseshell she-cat made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat before rolling over and blinking up at Blazeclaw, who stood above her with an impatient expression on his face.

"Snowfall wants you on a hunting patrol. _Now._" The ginger tom jerked his head towards the den exit. "The patrol was supposed to have left already, but you've held it up by oversleeping."

Poppyfur sighed and pushed herself to her paws, giving her disheveled pelt a few rough licks to smooth it down and untangle the moss fibers caught in it. "How long did I oversleep?" She asked the golden tom as she inspected a clump of bracken caught between two of her toes.

"The sun's up over the horizon and you're late." Blazeclaw snapped. "Honestly, I don't know why Swiftstar made you a warrior. You're so lazy all the time!"

"Go eat mouse bile, Blazeclaw," Poppyfur yawned at him as she stood up and stretched her long legs. "It's not the end of the world. I'm coming, aren't I?"

Blazeclaw growled something under his breath that might have been an insult, but turned and pushed his way out of the warrior's den. Poppyfur followed, rolling her shoulders back and letting out another yawn as she emerged into the bright new-leaf sunlight. Golden rays dappled the ThunderClan camp, shifting and swaying as the trees ringing their stone hollow whispered in the breeze. The young warrior could see a cluster of apprentices, all of whom had been her denmates until a few moons ago, wrestling together near the yew bush they slept beneath, while the Clan elders gossiped nearby. The pleasant murmurs of the countless conversations going on in the camp floated through the air into a comforting, familiar drone as Poppyfur trotted across the camp to where Snowfall was waiting with Blazeclaw, looking unimpressed with Poppyfur's tardiness.

"This is the second patrol you've been late to in the last quarter moon," the white she-cat scolded Poppyfur. "Blazeclaw here tells me you didn't seem to care that you were late today."

Poppyfur dipped her head to the senior warrior. "I'm sorry," she apologized genuinely. "I've not been sleeping well. It won't happen again."

The deputy gave her a once-over with her sharp amber eyes before letting out an exasperated huff. "See that it doesn't," she replied tersely. "In the meantime, I want you to go with Blazeclaw and Berrypaw on a hunting patrol."

Blazeclaw had a rather annoyed expression on his face as Snowfall said this, but Poppyfur just shrugged and nodded. "All right," she agreed calmly. Blazeclaw could be a pain sometimes, but at least his apprentice wasn't. "I'll go fetch Berrypaw now."

"She's my apprentice…" the golden tom tried to interrupt, but Poppyfur waved him off with her tail and trotted towards the apprentices' den.

"Berrypaw!" She called as she approached. Several of the play-fighting apprentices looked up when they heard her, but Berrypaw wasn't among them.

"She's in the medicine cat's den," another apprentice, Beetlepaw, told her. He flicked his glossy black tail towards the small opening in the stone hollow's side. "I think she had a bellyache."

"Thanks, Beetlepaw!" Poppyfur nodded to her friend and bounded towards the shadowy cave. The scent of herbs hung heavy around her as she stuck her head in through the entrance and called softly, "Berrypaw?"

"Who's there? Poppyfur?" There was a shuffling sound from inside, and the tortoiseshell she-cat saw something move in the back before its ears pricked and she recognized Brackenpaw coming towards her. The light brown tabby purred a greeting, then asked, "Were you looking for Berrypaw?"

"Yes," Poppyfur replied. "I heard she was in here with a bellyache, but Snowfall wants her for a patrol."

"She's sleeping right now," the medicine cat apprentice replied. "I think she ate a piece of bad fresh-kill."

"So… No patrol?" Poppyfur asked, dreading the thought of having to patrol alone with Blazeclaw.

"Afraid not," Brackenpaw replied apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Poppyfur mewed with a sigh, swishing her tail. "Thanks anyways."

Snowfall and Blazeclaw were waiting impatiently for her by the Highledge when she returned. "Where's Berrypaw?" Blazeclaw snapped at her.

"She's got bellyache," Poppyfur told him. "She's sleeping right now."

Blazeclaw muttered something about a no-good apprentice, but Snowfall just swished her feathery tail. "Very well," she meowed sharply. "Since you've already lost a lot of time, why don't you go ahead and go?"

"Alone?" Poppyfur blurted, before she could help herself. Her face flushed beneath her fur as the deputy gave her a skeptical look.

"Yes," Snowfall replied. "Now, off with the both of you!"

Blazeclaw dipped his head to Snowfall and stood. "We'll go by the WindClan border, then." He decided.

Poppyfur opened her mouth to argue with him, but couldn't find anything to say other than that he was being a bossy tom. The WindClan border was a nice place to hunt this time of year, but she really would have preferred going with someone other than Blazeclaw. "Fine," she huffed. "Let's go." Before the golden tom could make another remark, she squeezed out through the thorn tunnel and out into the crisp forest.

The beauty of the new-leaf morning greeted Poppyfur with a rush of fresh air and the sound of birdsong. Feeling her mood lightened a little by no longer being in the stuffy camp, the tortoiseshell she-cat raised her head and inhaled the warm scents happily. Tail swishing, she set off through the forest, not caring if Blazeclaw was behind her or not.

The other warrior crashed through the bushes behind her, muttering curses under his breath as thorns snagged in his thick fur and pulled out tufts of it. Poppyfur could hear him snarling to himself about how rotten a day it was, but she couldn't see it. Sure, she was being forced to go on a patrol with this mouse-brained excuse for a ThunderClan warrior, but she was out in the fresh air! Anything was better than being stuck in camp.

The scent of the WindClan border hit Poppyfur's scent glands, and she stopped to avoid getting too close to the foul things. Her hunting partner came up beside her, but Poppyfur did her best to ignore Blazeclaw and start focusing on the land around her, wondering where to start hunting. _First, I should put some distance between me and that furball, so I can hear the prey,_ she thought to herself, cutting a left and breaking into a trot to lose Blazeclaw behind her. She could still hear him nearby, but the prey was probably still out in this part of the forest.

The young warrior sniffed the air, pleased to catch the scent of vole on her tongue. A small clump of ferns rustled nearby, and Poppyfur sunk into a crouch, watching the foliage intently. The smell of fresh-kill grew stronger as she took one careful pawstep after another, intent on not disturbing a single leaf. The next time the underbrush twitched, she shot forward and hooked out the vole with both paws, sending it high into the air. It hit the ground, stunned, and Poppyfur pounced on it with claws extended, happy to have made a catch so quickly.

She had just buried the fresh-kill and was about to start searching for more scents, when Blazeclaw appeared from a nearby bush. "Poppyfur," he hissed intently, flicking his tail. "Get over here."

"What do you want, Blazeclaw?" Poppyfur asked, rolling her eyes.

The sound of rustling bracken suddenly caught her ears, and the fresh scent of WindClan drifted to her… from their side of the border. Her eyes widened and she quickly crossed to Blazeclaw, who shot back into the bushes just as a clump of brambles began to rustle opposite them. Poppyfur ducked back into the shelter of a heavy-leafed bush and peeked out, watching curiously. It wasn't long before a small, slender cat emerged from the underbrush, reeking of WindClan. Her ears were pricked and she was glancing around nervously. Poppyfur narrowed her eyes as the young cat sniffed around for a few moments and then slunk over to where Poppyfur had buried her vole and dug it up! The ThunderClan warrior fought back a snarl as the enemy warrior filled in the hole, picked up the fresh-kill and ran from the clearing. As soon as she was gone, Poppyfur burst from her hiding place and let loose a stream of curses. "WindClan scum!" She snarled.

"Calm down, Poppyfur. It's just a piece of fresh-kill," Blazeclaw told her condescendingly.

Poppyfur turned on him. "This is your fault! You told me to hide. If I hadn't, we would've caught that mangy she-cat and taken her back to camp! I'm going to go back and tell Swiftstar."

"Okay, you do that." Blazeclaw replied, rolling his eyes. "And I'll stay here and patrol like we're _supposed to._"

Ignoring the obnoxious tom, Poppyfur returned to camp as fast as she could and squeezed in through the thorn tunnel, trying to decide exactly what to tell Swiftstar. On her way to the Highledge, she was stopped by none other than Snowfall. "What are you doing back so early?" The deputy snapped. "I told you to go on the hunting patrol!"

Breathless from running, Poppyfur panted, "I saw a WindClan warrior stealing prey. I need to tell Swiftstar."

Snowfall stopped for a moment, the gears whirring in her head before she nodded. "All right," she replied. "Go on up."

"Thank you." Poppyfur bounded up the tumble of rocks to the Highledge and softly called out, "Hello?"

There was silence for a moment before Poppyfur heard Swiftstar's mew, cracked with age. "Enter."

Poppyfur stepped into the cool den to see the elderly black-and-white tom sitting in his nest, grooming one ear with his forepaw. "Good morning, Poppyfur," he mewed. "What can I do for you?"

Heart pounding, the she-cat retold the story of what had happened by the WindClan border to Swiftstar, watching him closely to see how he reacted.

When she had finished, the old tom looked more confused than anything. "You say she dug up prey you had already killed and carried it off?"

Poppyfur nodded. "She didn't even try to catch anything on her own. She just took mine."

"As if she weren't even interested in hiding it…" Swiftstar's hackles rose and he bared his teeth in a snarl. "That young Emberstar's gotten too cocky," he growled. "I'll bring it up at the next Gathering. Thank you for telling me, Poppyfur."

The tortoiseshell she-cat nodded. The silence lingered for a few moments before she realized she had been dismissed and quickly hurried from the den, her mind flooded with curiosity at what Swiftstar might do. In all her life, Poppyfur had never been in a real battle because Swiftstar was known for being a gentle, kind leader. Maybe it was better that way—ThunderClan had lived in peace with the other Clans for many moons, thanks to Swiftstar. They prospered in their stone hollow, and with new-leaf just arriving, many queens were expecting kits and everyone was healthy. But Poppyfur remembered the way the WindClan warrior had snuck into their territory and taken prey that she had caught, and wondered if they were trying to provoke a fight.

The young she-cat sighed as she swept her tail over the dusty ground. Clan politics were too complicated for her to understand. _I just hope Swiftstar makes the right decisions._


End file.
